Personal Brand Identity Mindmap

https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lVFW8rM=/

Above I explored 5  words/primary considerations I wanted to include in my brand they were, my name, my target audience, my persona and whether to run with the idea of having a virtual presence being presented as a lab or studio.

Current favourite outcome:

Rachel Donaldson Design/ Rachel’s Design Lab/ RDLab/ R Design Lab

While I like the idea of having my full name in my brand name the outcome is very long if I want to include the word design. As a result of this, I am leaning towards the more playful Rachel’s Design lab which can then be abbreviated and replaced with my name as necessary. As the letters RD fit both Rachel Donaldson and Rachel’s Design Lab I have explored this outcome primarily in my monogram sketch below however, I have also explored RDL as a potential outcome.

I have sketched out over 30 different ways to present my initials (RD) in a monogram. As I am playing with the idea of calling myself Rachel’s Design Lab I have also included a couple of RDL outcomes as well

Above I have considered a number of design elements these include, combining the letters, reflecting the letters, using and playing with the negative space within and around the letters as well as experimenting with 3D components. Of the above outcomes, I think the 1st, 3rd and 4th have the most potential however I do not feel I have hit on anything here that really captures the personality of my brand.

In the above outcomes, I have also considered movement particularly in outcome 17 which show how the 3 letters could rotate around a square, doubling in length when the letter reaches the right-hand side. While I like this idea in motion my concern would be that in static form the monogram would appear too bland. On this page, I would like to further developed outcome 16, 19 and 20 as I feel they present the strongest design elements and personality.

Above are further variations with some interesting letterforms particularly outcome 23 however none of the above strike me as having really strong and memorable design elements.

In my final variations, I have focused primarily on line looking at slanting line and disconnecting where they overlap and crudely highlighting where they overlap.

 

Early Digital Outcomes

Once I have drawn out all my variations I then moved to create some of the outcomes on illustrator. While I’m not planning on running with any of the above outcomes I still find it helpful to draw out my ideas digitally to achieve greater clarity on works and what doesn’t.

What have I learnt?

• Sketching ideas out is a vital part of the idea and creation process and by spending time on this at the beginning of a project a much stronger outcome can be achieved.
• Using grid paper is really helpful in creating better sketched more quickly
• It can be helpful to draw up outcomes digitally along the way to get a better feel for works and what doesn’t, I found this to also be helpful in inspiring new ideas that I then went and sketched up.

How can I apply this to my work in future?

• When creating a brand it’s important to get as many different ideas on paper as possible once a clear understanding of the tone of voice and some research has been completed this is a process I intend to follow when completing any branding projects in future.
• I think it was helpful to move my sketches onto grid paper early on in the sketching process so this is something I would repeat in future projects.
• I found it to be so important to consider the tone of voice I was attempting to achieve while producing outcomes, particularly when it came to decisive decision making on what worked and what didn’t. Therefore establishing a cleat tone of voice before creating a monogram or any visual marks is a definite must for me in future projects.